New Zealand’s public service department has recently announced plans to cut over 800 jobs across five departments including Kāinga Ora (Housing Ministry), the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Statistics New Zealand, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA), and the Ministry of Education.
This move comes as the government aims to significantly reduce spending ahead of the budget announcement, seeking annual savings of $1.5 billion New Zealand dollars through a large-scale government job reduction plan.
The Ministry of Education is set to cut 755 positions, with 439 individuals facing job losses and the remaining 316 vacancies left unfilled. NZQA plans to eliminate 66 positions, resulting in 35 job losses and 13 vacant positions. Statistics New Zealand will reduce 153 positions, an increase of 29 from the estimate made in December. HUD will see 30 job losses, with an additional 10 vacancies left unfilled. Kāinga Ora is cutting 159 positions with more potential cuts to come pending the results of an upcoming independent assessment.
Assistant Minister of the Public Service Association (PSA), Fleur Fitzsimons, criticized the job cuts as “dangerous, destructive, rushed, and ill-considered,” particularly questioning Kāinga Ora and NZQA for reducing staff during a period of high demand for public housing and the implementation of new qualification standards.
The Labour Party’s housing spokesperson criticized the cuts at HUD and Kāinga Ora as “reckless,” claiming that this would slow down the process of addressing the housing crisis.